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Thinking About Tomorrow |
Looking at trends
and topics that
influence excellence in ministry |
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What about tithing?
by Rev. Don Eastman
Tithing, or giving ten percent of one’s income to the church, is a
common approach to giving in churches. In
Money Matters by Dean R. Hoge,
a study of giving in five major denominations in the
USA
found three kinds of churches; tithing, pledging and offering:
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Tithing
churches have an understanding that members who desire to be in good
standing with God and the congregation need to tithe, literally ten
percent of their income.
·
Pledging
churches favor tithing, but believe it is unrealistic to expect most
members to tithe. The main
characteristic of these churches is the annual stewardship program
asking for pledges.
·
Offering
churches stress neither tithing nor pledging. Efforts to increase giving
usually focus on the quality of the program, costs of operating the
church and ministry, or sometimes special needs.
This study found that tithing churches tend to have the highest per
capita giving and a higher average percentage of annual household income
given. Pledging churches
tend to do better than offering churches.
Overall, a very small percentage of congregants actually give ten
percent of their income to churches. A 1996 poll in the
USA
by the Barna Research Group found that only 3-5% of the people who give
money to a church give 10% or more of their income to religious
organizations.
more...
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archived Blogs
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Check
it out! See what’s new on the Ministry Excellence
Center website:
Book Review by
Grant Lynn Ford
"First Impressions"
Coming Soon:
Articles, photos, etc from
our first
Quest for Excellence Conference
A series of Polls/Surveys
for your ideas and opinions
Weekly Devotionals for reflection and inspiration
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Announcements/News:
 Building a Culture of Generosity
Quest for Excellence Conference
Featuring Alice Mann
of the Alban Institute
was held November 8-11, 2007
Presented by the Ministry Excellence Center
at the Sunshine Cathedral MCC Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Reviews, photos here soon!
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The Ministry Excellence Center
is a chartered ministry of
the Sunshine Cathedral
in association with
Metropolitan Community Churches
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.Today's
Good Ideas |
Exploring
perspectives and paths
to
increase effectiveness in ministry |
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First Impressions
by Grant Lynn Ford
How do you make a
visitor a guest in your church? What’s the difference? A visitor is
someone who comes to your church for the first time; a guest is someone
you go out of your way to welcome. As Mark L. Waltz says in his book
First Impressions: Creating
Wow Experiences in Your
Church: “Before the message has been given or the songs have been
sung, your guests have formed opinions of your church based on their
first impressions.”
His book is filled
with wonderful narratives of welcomed guests, but more importantly, it’s
filled with tips for making your church more guest-friendly.
He’s so practical. He
suggests you take a look at how you are treated by the places where you
shop or do business, where you buy groceries and bank. One of my
favorite dining places is Fort Lauderdale’s new St. Regis Hotel. It’s
worth the little extra at lunch time just to be pampered from the moment
you drive up to the front door, and they graciously open every door, and
then whisk your car away. Several people are there to welcome you (by
name, if it’s not your first visit). At least one person walks with you
until you’ve fully entered the lobby. Sometimes that person walks all
the way to the restaurant, or someone from the concierge desk may take
over. But I have never walked that long walk without being accompanied!
And it’s always filled with interesting conversation about all sorts of
friendly topics. In other words, the St. Regis Hotel knows how to make a
good first impression.
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